bluesequin's Reviews > Gossip Girl

There's one thing that you must accept before you read these books: lives like those written about in Gossip Girl exist. And I know this because I live it. Granted, I'm much more like the Jenny Humphrey type who witnesses the drama from the outside, but I still hear about it. And yes, that's what the "popular" kids do. They rent limos and get drunk or high in them on their way to Manhattan clubs where they then hook up with all their friends and their friends' friends. What you wear defines you, you get cool points for professionally modeling or acting, and your address is a label. The drama is just part of the territory. And the stress and expectations are preposterous, with college and social etiquette and whatnot, and any one toe out of line can have you packing for boarding school in an instant. And really, there's next to no parental love; there's just a gaping loneliness that's seemingly inescapable. That theme felt evident to me in these books.

I found Blair to be thrilling, quite honestly. Maybe it's partly because I know so many girls just like her, but she was so amusing to shadow, as bitchy and temperamental as she was. She was refreshing and comical and outrageous, and it's so rare to read a book whose main character is an antiheroine. In comparison to the other characters, Blair is complex, striking, and quite unique.

This book isn't meant to give you a great plot to ponder. More than anything, it frames an unfortunate reality -- fleeting moments of superficial joy to cover up the gray. And if anything, these books can be pretty hilarious sometimes.